Improvement in fare controllers and indicators



' 2Sheets-Sheetl.

L. VON HOVEN. FARE-CONTROLLER AND INDICATOR.

Patented May 23,1876.

'LPEIERS. PHOTO-LITHOGRAPHEH, WASHINGTON. D C.

v ZSheets Sheet 2. 'L. VON HOVEN. FARE-CONTROLLER AND INDICATOR.-

Patented May 23,1876.

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UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICE.

LOUIS VON HOVEN, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN FARE CONTROLLERS AND INDICATORS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 177,900, dated May 23, 1876 application filed February 2, 1876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS VON HoVEN, of

Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a: certain new and useful Fare Controller and Indicator; and I do hereby declare the followand use it, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this? 5 conceals said sign, this operation causing the specification, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical section. Fig. 3 is a front; Fig. 4 is a reverse side elevation Fig. 2 is a side elevation. elevation. of my invention.

The object of my invention is to provide an apparatus for preventing hack and cab drivers who are not the owners of the vehicles under their control from cheating either passengers, by charging anexcessive fare, or the owners of the vehicles, by returning less than the amount of fares really collected.

My invention consists of an apparatus comprising the following instrumentalities: first, asign to indicate when the vehicle is to hire, and when it is engaged; second, a clock which will be stopped when the sign shows the vehicle is for hire, but will be going when said sign is concealed, thus indicating the period of time for which the vehicle has been hired; third, a recording-dial, on which is set down the actual amount of fare received by the driver, passengers paying only the amount so set down, and the driver being compelled to account with the owner of the vehicle for the same fourth, a dial for registering the number of times a vehicle has been hired, so as to prevent the driver from pretending that, for instance, he had but a certain small num ber of passengers during a given period of time, when, in reality, he had a greater number.

In carrying'my invention into effect I provide a clock-work apparatus of substantially the usual construction, which will indicate the passage of time in hours and minutes. This apparatus I locate in any suitable position on or in the vehicle, preferably back of the drivers seat, in such position that the front of the clock or outer face thereof will be in the view of the passenger within, so'that he can observe the progress of the hands over the dial. In connection with this clock-work is a sign bearing the words For Hire, or other equivalent suggestion. Said sign is within control of the driver, who exposes it while on the stand or awaiting a passenger, during which period the clock Within, by a mechanical connection hereinafter more fully described, will be stopped. As soon as a passenger is secured, the driver turns down or clock to start and continue going until the signis again exposed or lifted. As soon as a passenger is ready to leave the vehicle, or when his trip is ended, he is notified by the driver of the amount due for fare. This notification is effected by the drivers operating a button or equivalent device, causing a pointer on a second dial, (consisting of a series of figures running consecutively, as 0,1, 2, &c.,) arranged consecutively with the clock-dial, to record in numbers the amount due for fare.

on the passengers leaving the vehicle, or at the time he enters it, the movement of the sign either up or down, or from exposure to concealment, or vice versa, causes an indexlinger on a third dial to move one point, the points thus indicated showing the number of times a vehicle has been hired. The necessity for this third dial arises from the fact that it is customary to charge a certain rate of fare to any passenger for the first hour, (or any fraction thereof,) and a less rate for subsequent hours. Thus, suppose three passengers should hire a vehicle insuccession, each paying the established rate for the first hour of occupancy. Were there no provision for noting the 4 number of passengers the driver might allege, in settling with the owner of the vehicle, that, though the clock indicated that his vehicle had been hired for three hours, it had been kept for that time by the passenger who 7 firstentered it, and who had, therefore, paid the maximum fare for the first hour of his occupancy, and the lesser rate for the two following hours.

In conjunction with the apparatus for recording the fare is a gong and striker for sounding an alarm, thus notifying the passenger by ear as well as by visual inspection of the amount due. The various dials and clockwork are placed within a strong case having two glass faces, so that while said mechanism is open to inspection, it cannot be tampered with for the purpose of turning back the hands or stopping the works, except as already indicated. On leaving the stable in the morning the various hands and indices are started at 0. Upon returning, an inspection of the dials will indicate the time the vehicle has been hired, the amount received for fare, and the number of different passengers who have severally occupied the vehicle, for all of which" the driver must account with the owner.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, A designates a clock-case of any appropriate form, containing a movement, B, which actuates the hour and minute hands I) 0, showing the passage of time on the dial 0. Said dial has two concentric rows of figures, beginning with 0, and continuing from 1 up to 12. The inner row 0 is for marking the time of the clock, while the outer row is for recording the fare received. D is an index-finger or pointer, moved by a lever, E, each downward move ment of said lever causing said finger to travel from one of the points d to another. When, therefore, a passenger is about to pay for a fare, he consults the clock to see the time he has occupied the vehicle. The driver operates the lever E, so as to cause the pointer D to record on the outer row of figures F the amount due for the time so shown, (or for the distance traveled in such time,) which the passenger thereupon pays. The clock should be formed with two faces, so as to permit a duplicate of the pointer D (shown in the drawing at G) to be viewed and operated by the driver whenever he actuates the lever E, the movement of said lever operating both said pointers equally and simultaneously, thus permitting both the passenger and driver each to see, on opposite sides or faces of the clock, the proper recording of the true fare. H represents a signal, on which is displayed the words For Hire, or other equivalent notice. This signal is to be so connected, or in such communication with the movement B, that when the former is displayed the latter will be stopped; but when said signal is dropped or concealed, said movement will be going, and truly and exactly recording the time. By preference, the clock-case being made circular, the signal is secured to a ring or band, h, encircling said case. I is a spring-bolt, (operated by a pivored lever, 1 which, when the signal is exposed, passes through an opening, h in the ring h and case A, pressing upon a stud, i, on the end of an arm, 1 and forcing a pendant, 11, into engagement with the escapement K, thereby stopping the movement B. When the signal is turned down or concealed, the bolt I is withdrawn from the opening in the case, allowing the pendant z" to be forced up from engagement with the escapement K by means of the spring 70, secured to the arm 1 and thus permitting the movement to go.

L represents an index-finger, which moves over a dial, M, on either face of the clock preferably on the face adjacent to the driver. Whenever the signal is dropped or turned down so as to be concealed, the finger L is moved from one point, 1, of said dial M to another, thus indicating successive hirings, or to how many different parties the vehicle has been hired. N is a ratchet, attached to the shaft Z of the index L, and P is a lever, sustaiuing a pawl, 0, which engages with said ratchet. The lever 1? projects, when the signal is displayed, through an opening, a, in the case A, engaging with a beveled notch, W, in the inside of the band h. The movement downwardly of the band h draws with it the lever P, carrying the pawl 0 over the ratchet N one tooths distance of the latter, until said lever arrives at the lower extremity of the opening a. At this point the end of said lever stops, the ring h there clearing it and moving over it unobstructed. On the upward movement of the ring h the end of said lever is caught in the notch W, said lever being thus moved upwardly, and causing the pawl 0 so to move the ratchet N that the index L will be advanced one point. B represents a gong, on which an alarm will be sounded whenever a fare is recorded, a striker, R, for sounding said gong, being connected by rod t with the lever E. Said gong is designed to'be placed on the back of a box, S, which serves as a receptacle for the signal when dropped. On the front of said box should be printed or painted instructions for the guidance of the passenger in paying, and the government of the driver in receiving, fare. T is a handle, by means of which the ring h is turned when it is desired to display the signal. At night said signal should be illuminated, either by making it of transparent material and placing a lamp or candle within a chamber formed in it, or by reflecting a light by any appropriate means upon itin such manner as to render the notice plainly visible.

It is plain that the mechanical construction and details of the apparatus may be considerably varied or modified within the terms of my invention.

What I claim as myinvention is- 1. A fare controller and indicator embodying the following instrumentalities: a sign for showing when the vehicle is for hire, a clock for noting the time the vehicle is engaged, and a dial or register for recording the amount of fare demanded of the passenger by the driver, whether the carriage be in motion or at rest, these several parts being combined for conjoint operation, as set forth.

2. A fare controller and indicator having a clock for noting the time a vehicle is hired, and a register or dial for numbering the successive hirings, in combination with a sign for showing when the vehicle is for hire and when engaged, said sign being connected by appropriate mechanism with the clock, so as to stop the latter when said sign is exposed, and to permit it to run when concealed, being also connected with said register, as set forth, so that dropping or concealing said sign, orraising or exposing it after it has been concealed, will mark on the register a number or point, and thus indicate successive hirings, or show to how many difl'erent parties the vehicle has been hired during the time noted by the clock.

3. The combination, in a fare controller and indicator, of a sign to show when the vehicle is engaged and when for hire, a clock for not-- ing the period during which the vehicle is enhave hereunto set my hand this; 24th day of January, 1876.

LOUIS VON HOVEN.

Witnesses:

M. DANL. GoNNoLLy, CHAS. F. VAN HORN. 

